Wednesday, March 01, 2019
Pashinian Again Calls For Karabakh’s Engagement In Talks With Azerbaijan
Armenia's and Nagorno-Karabakh's Security Councils hold a joint session in
Stepanakert.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian again called for Nagorno-Karabakh’s
becoming a full party to the negotiations as he addressed on Tuesday his top
security aides ahead of his first meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev to be held with international mediators’ assistance sometime soon.
Together with Nagorno-Karabakh leader Bako Sahakian Pashinian presided over the
first-ever joint meeting of Armenia’s and Nagorno-Karabakh’s Security Councils
held in the Karabakh capital of Stepanakert today.
In his opening remarks before the start of the meeting the Armenian premier
described it as “unprecedented” and “very symbolic” and singled out three main
issues to be addressed by senior representatives of the Armenian political and
military leadership.
Pashinian reiterated that Nagorno-Karabakh’s becoming a full party to the
negotiations conducted under the auspices of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group co-chairmanship (the United States, Russia,
France) will be a key point during his upcoming discussions with Aliyev.
“This is not a whim, nor a precondition. This is simple logic that
Nagorno-Karabakh’s involvement is key to the settlement process,” Pashinian
stressed, as quoted by his press office.
Azerbaijan has opposed Nagorno-Karabakh’s participation in the talks as a
separate party, insisting that the region is “occupied” by Armenia and
negotiations should be held only with official Yerevan. At the same time, the
Azerbaijani leadership has repeatedly raised the issue of ethnic Azerbaijanis
displaced from Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh during the 1988-1994 war.
Pashinian explained that unlike Aliyev, for whom “Nagorno-Karabakh’s
Azerbaijani community” also voted as current citizens of Azerbaijan, he cannot
represent the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, since only citizens of Armenia voted
for him and his political team in Armenian elections. The international
community, Pashinian said, is represented at the negotiations by the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs. “So far, the negotiation process has in fact involved all
stakeholders except one… The problem is that no one has the authority and
legitimacy to represent the people of Nagorno-Karabakh at the negotiations
today,” he said.
At the same time, Pashinian described as absurd claims that by seeking
Nagorno-Karabakh’s involvement in the process Armenia tries to shun
responsibility and put the entire responsibility on the authorities or the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh. “The Republic of Armenia has and will be the number
one guarantor of Nagorno-Karabakh’s security and will continue its involvement
in the peace process,” the Armenian prime minister underscored.
In its latest statement issued over the weekend the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
reiterated that “a fair and lasting settlement must be based on the core
principles of the Helsinki Final Act, including in particular the non-use or
threat of force, territorial integrity, and the equal rights and
self-determination of peoples.”
“It also should embrace additional elements as proposed by the Presidents of
the Co-Chair countries in 2009-2012, including: return of the territories
surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; an interim status for
Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for security and self-governance; a
corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh; future determination of the final
legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will;
the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their
former places of residence; and international security guarantees that would
include a peacekeeping operation,” the mediating troika said.
Speaking before the Security Councils’ meeting in Stepanakert, Pashinian said
that one of the questions to answer was whether the government of Armenia
accepts these three principles and six elements as a basis for the negotiation
process.
“This is really an important question, but in answering this question we need
important clarifications. What can these principles mean in practice and who
has the right to interpret them? This is important, because the way Azerbaijan
interprets these principles is unacceptable for us. We, of course, can come up
with our own interpretation of these principles, but it’s pointless because our
goal is not to engage in a war of words, but to have an efficient negotiation
process. And consequently, the basis for the negotiation process should not
leave room for different interpretations,” Pashinian said.
“However, the principles and elements proposed by the co-chairs have given rise
to all sorts of interpretations over the past 10 years and, therefore, the most
important objective of the forthcoming negotiation process should be to clarify
the so-called main concepts – the three principles and six elements, and we are
ready also for such a conversation.”
Another major issue pointed out by the Armenian prime minister at the
Stepanakert meeting is preparing societies for peace.
“I think it is necessary to emphasize that preparing the peoples for peace
cannot be a separate issue of only one government involved in the negotiations.
This should be joint work. I mean, for example, preparing Azerbaijan’s society
should take place not only with the participation of Azerbaijan’s government
but also with the participation of Armenia’s government. It was this
consideration that forced me to make a statement from the parliament tribune
last fall, a statement that was, in fact, unprecedented for our reality, as I
said that any solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue should be acceptable for
the people of Armenia, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and the people of
Azerbaijan… Unfortunately, we do not hear similar statements and do not see
similar steps from the president of Azerbaijan. Despite this, I am ready to
continue the dialogue not only with the president of Azerbaijan, but also with
the people of Azerbaijan, because I am convinced that the people of Azerbaijan
are as peace-loving as the people of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh,” Pashinian
concluded.
For his part, in his opening remarks Nagorno-Karabakh leader Sahakian, in
particular, stressed that international recognition remains a priority for
Stepanakert.
As a result of discussions both security councils reaffirmed that
Nagorno-Karabakh’s “defense capabilities are guaranteed and are at the high
level.” “At the same time the two Armenian sides again expressed their support
for and commitment to an exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict under
the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group and on the basis of the fundamental
principles of international law, in particular, the right of peoples to
self-determination,” the Armenian prime minister’s press office said in the
press release.
Soldier Arrested In Karabakh Army Death Probe
A soldier has been arrested in Nagorno-Karabakh on suspicion of killing a
fellow conscript in the ethnic Armenian defense army reported earlier on
Tuesday, according to investigators.
The Armenia-based Investigative Committee said on its official website that the
arrested soldier, whose identity is not disclosed yet, is suspected of
committing murder.
Earlier, military authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh reported that in the early
hours of March 12, 19-year-old conscript Karen Karapetian sustained a fatal
gunshot wound at an outpost in the northeastern direction of the ‘line of
contact’ with Azerbaijan.
Still at the early stage of the probe the Investigative Committee ruled out
that the Armenian soldier might have been killed with a bullet released from
Azerbaijani military positions.
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” suggests that the recent statement by the American, Russian and
French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group contains no major news, but, in fact,
repeats what has already been in the public domain for a long time. The only
remarkable thing about the statement, according to the paper, is that it has
for the first time been made during the tenure of new Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian. “It is after this statement that the Armenian prime minister went to
Stepanakert where he met with Karabakh leader Bako Sahakian and is to chair an
enlarged meeting of Armenia’s Security Council,” the daily writes.
“Zhamanak” reports that during a press conference in Yerevan on Monday the NATO
Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia
James Appathurai stated that NATO was interested in peace in the region and
that it had told all parties that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has no military
solution. “The statement of NATO’s special representative in Yerevan is, in
fact, a warning to Azerbaijan, which, simultaneously with NATO Week events in
Armenia, is conducting large-scale military exercises without prior proper
international notification,” the paper comments.
“Aravot” suggests that the government should forge ahead with its reforms
without paying too much attention to public opinion. “Otherwise, things won’t
get moving. If there is a decision to ban smoking indoors, then it must be
implemented and the health minister is right here. If the goal is to change the
tax legislation, then it is necessary to hear the opinions of lawmakers of the
so-called ‘economic bloc’ rather than conservative ministers. If it is
necessary to free public institutions from idling employees, then one should
disregard the wailing of social populists. Otherwise, staying in limbo for long
may shut the window of opportunity opened by the people,” the daily’s editor
writes.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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